Gary Gauthier's Blog, page 9

Network Effects: Membership Has Its Privileges

We live at the dawn of the digital age. With a little work, we can have hundreds of "friends" and followers. Nowadays, it doesn't take a big achievement to have thousands of followers. We take for granted how easy it is to connect and to belong. I can imagine a teen-ager wondering how folks formed new connections and stayed in touch before the age of social media. Actually, sometimes I myself wonder.

Creative Folks Want to Be Noticed
All creative folks like their work to be noticed and appreciated. And if we're lucky, we enjoy the ultimate experience of getting paid to share our talent. Social-medial platforms help us to develop our brand, gain visibility and build an audience. We can choose from a large array of social-media networks to help us get noticed.

Lots of Small Fish Go Unnoticed
While huge networks like Facebook and Twitter have their benefits, each member is only a small fish. If you are not well known, your voice and your presence can easily go unnoticed.

A Big Fish In a Small Pond
Many writers relish the opportunity to write a guest post on someone else's blog. It gives us the chance to be a big fish for a time, even if it's in a small pond. The exposure, a mini network effect, is the intangible but valuable benefit. A very effective way to increase your visibility and showcase your talent is to join a small network.

We Extend an Invitation
If you are a blogger, we invite you to investigate what the Life List Club is all about. Our small network will give you the opportunity to be a guest blogger twice a month. Your blog and your writing will be exposed to all our existing readers. You will make new friends. Just like any other network, the more connections it has, the more powerful our LLC network becomes.

How I Benefited
I've been a member for a mere three months. In that short time, I've made wonderful friendships with talented writers. My blog receives guest posts on a regular basis. Many of my visitors "discovered" my blog because I belong to the LLC. I haven't asked them yet, but I'm sure some LLC members will want to write a review for me when my novel is completed.

The Life List Club encourages members to set goals that are shared publicly. This exercise provides good grounding for a self-evaluation. I can look back three months ago and see what I've accomplished since then.

Have you previously benefited from your membership in a network? Do you belong to a network that helps you to build an audience?

Publishing In The Golden Age of Competition

There are numerous parts to the debate currently swirling in the publishing industry.  One part is the question of the value that traditional publishers provide to established authors. Another part of the debate is whether new authors can bypass legacy publishing on their way to success. Some suggest that this is the dawn of a new and golden age for writers. Others argue that things won't change much after the dust settles. The best way to become a successful author will remain the first contract signed with a traditional  publisher.

The familiar tends to give us the false impression of stability and permanence. History proves that we tend to underestimate the power of new technology. Western Union turned down an offer to purchase Bell's telephone patent because telegraph communications were more efficient and reliable. The telephone patent, today, is widely regarded as the most valuable patent ever registered.

Some believe that the large publishing houses have been caught in a draft, will survive almost intact and will continue to enjoy their monopoly and influence. The current flux is similar to catching a cold, a temporary disruption from which they will eventually recover. One of the arguments to support this point is that publishers have hard drives upon hard drives filled with mid-list titles that soon will be published as ebooks. This large back catalog will flood the market and will effectively kill whatever challenge to their hegemony was posed by the advent of e-publishing. The likes of Amanda Hocking and John Locke will prove to be historical aberrations. Writers who are not established will have to compete with this huge backlist of "new" releases.

Some who believe in the value of legacy publishing don't have convincing arguments but are really hoping that the status quo remains and the publishers maintain their market dominance. Their position comes from a vested interest in the order of things or out of respect for the proper order of things. Legacy publishers, after all, have played an important role in society for the past five centuries.

This article argues that legacy publishers are part of an industry that is forever changed. The biggest competitive advantages they previously enjoyed have lost much of their value. The infrastructure that specialized in printing and distributing books is becoming superfluous. Talented, creative and knowledgeable writers will greatly benefit from these changes.

Consider these propositions:

• Legacy publishing specializes in servicing mass markets.
• Technology enables readers to find what they like.
• The market for books will grow.
• Technology empowers writers to create niche markets.
• Specialized knowledge, talent and creativity are the trump cards of writers.

Legacy Publishers Cater to Large Stagnant Markets.
Before a legacy publisher agrees to publish a book, they need to feel secure about which readers will read it. Their universe of readers is artificially defined by genres and types of books. They are forced to serve large, well-defined market segments. This is due to the limitations of their business model which is based on wide-scale distribution. The feedback loop between what the market cares about and would like to read is necessarily slow and cumbersome. Many tastes are ignored for lack of information or want of market size. This legacy system stifles creativity because the prudent course is for publishers to minimize the risk of bad investments. When you enjoy what amounts to monopoly or cartel status, there is no incentive to develop niche markets. Publishers do not have strong incentives to experiment with anything outside of what they believe to be the tried and true. On the contrary, recent competition from independent publishers made them more conservative.

Technology Empowers Readers to Find What They Like.
Publishers are forced to acknowledge the ascendancy of ereaders or face their peril. Consumers are the beneficiaries of technological innovations that give them more choices than ever before. Search and recommendation algorithms for books will continue to improve. Search technology is a recent development that came after the widespread adoption of the Internet. As recently as the 1990's, the most helpful algorithm for finding a book was the Dewey decimal classification system. For the most part, you also had to be physically present at a library or a book store. Choice was very limited and the publishers had tremendous power because they decided what to print and therefore what was available for people to read.

The Market for Books Will Expand
As ereaders and the number of ebooks proliferate, the population of avid and regular readers will increase.  Ereaders and tablets attract new readers and they make existing readers more voracious in their reading habits. In large part, this is because readers have more choices and have quick access to what they like to read. Finally, ereaders are a form of storage for portable libraries that reside on the devices. In a society that values literacy, there is no downside to everyone owning a portable library. Young children should have one suitable for their age as soon as they learn to read.

Authors Are Creating Niche Markets. The old paradigm of competition in publishing assumes that markets are already defined and tend to remain static. The business model of the legacy publishers relied on this paradigm and it proved successful.

It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking that a few leading authors who are standouts in a particular genre are "the competition" for new authors. Their books are prominently displayed in the remaining bookstores and are reviewed and critiqued by respected voices. But this type of thinking misses the point. In the information age, new authors don't have to compete with established authors for the same readers. Social media tools allow unknown writers to jump into the fray and carve up new niches that previously didn't exist. There is no killer tool, but rather a large and growing number of media platforms. Writers can use podcasts, videos, blogs, facebook and twitter to test and create their brand and build a rapport with an audience. The old metaphor of a pizza pie limited to eight slices is stale and no longer accurately represents the market for books.

Amanda Hocking wasn't "competing" with any established authors when she released her first book.  An apt metaphor that explains the strategy of creating a niche market is staking claim to a plot of ground and cultivating it into a garden. It's easy to give a few examples. A writer can cater to an audience that is primarily interested in contemporary urban short stories or romance novels set in medieval England. These potential markets won't care about and won't notice the coming flood of mid-list ebooks. Does anyone know the size of the market for science-fiction stories that focus on nano-technology?

A lucrative niche for an individual author doesn't have to be large by conventional standards.


Writers and Readers are In Direct Communication.
Today's communication technologies empower authors as well as readers. Years ago, it was mostly a one way conversation with a reviewer telling the public the relative merits of a new book. This information was mostly limited to newspaper and magazine reviews that were of the utmost importance to a particular book or individual author. Today, by contrast, authors have a virtual arsenal of communication tools at their disposal and a geographic reach that is bounded only by language. If the author chooses, the conversation with his readers can be two-way, ongoing and dynamic. Author and audience can influence each other.


The Real Competition
The new competition is between forms of communication. On one level, it is the battle of the old way of communicating to mass markets versus the new way of communicating to niche markets. On one side are the anointed, respected voices who speak to the masses on behalf of legacy publishing and selected authors. On the other side are writers who are able to maintain a meaningful relationship with their audience. Each method has its benefits and unique advantages.

Talent , Creativity and Access to Markets
Every business school student knows that an entrepreneur can develop a soft-drink that tastes better than Coke (the real thing), and that the big challenge is to market and distribute this new product effectively. Technology allows writers to create and service niche markets based on their special knowledge, talents and creative disposition. The problem of access to market and the challenge of physical distribution are solved by digital technology. These previously served as a moat that protected the cartel of legacy publishing from competition.

The tip of the iceberg is the small number of successful, name-brand, authors who are starting to self-publish. Many other established authors understand that self-publishing has become a viable option. The existing infrastructure of traditional publishing certainly remains a valuable business asset. But as e-publishing matures and the economic ramifications play themselves out, the declining value of a publisher's services will become more pronounced. Authors will negotiate tougher deals (do I own ebook rights?), demand more services or walk away from contract offers. Amazon is now handing out publishing contracts and its business specialty used to be that of a retailer of non-perishable items that could be shipped. Who else will want to finance authors? Google and Apple are in the ebook and ereader business and facebook recently purchased an ebook company.

The golden-age metaphor for writers has yet to prove itself. The mythology of legitimacy and authority inherent in being an indispensable institution for 500 years will continue as myths are wont to last long after the historical conditions that created them are only a memory. Economic realities, however, will continue to erode the already diminished cachet of traditional publishing.

Guest Post: Marcia Richards

It's close enough to the time when we can start saying Happy Holidays! and wishing folks a Merry Christmas! Thank you visiting. Today is Life List Club Friday and I am delighted to have fellow LLC member, Marcia Richards as my guest. In my post for today, I share some thoughts I had after I did an Internet search on "reasons not to self-publish." Thanks to Jenny Hansen for hosting the article on her blog.

You may not have finished your holiday shopping, but Marcia has a few tips for you to consider after the holiday cheer has subsided and the new year has begun. 

10 Tricks to Ward Off the Post-Holiday Blues

Only 9 more days until Christmas and New Year's Day is another 7 days. Your house looks amazing! It's clean, bright and expertly decorated! You've been scrambling to buy everyone's gifts without going over budget; wrapping presents; baking cookies; planning the meal; getting party clothes ready; making reservations for New Year's Eve; hiring a babysitter and maybe helping family with travel arrangements.It's your busiest time of year. It's when you accomplish the most and you love almost every minute of it - the fun, the friends and family, the food - and then, 16 days from now... IT'S OVER.
Suddenly, you're not so busy. What will you do to fill your time? The kids are going back to school, you'll be back at work and able to focus, the tree is out by the curb, and you have all those decorations to put away. Bleh!
Part of you is glad to 'get back to normal'. But, maybe a bigger part of you is feeling the letdown. It's much like grief. You're experiencing loss. The blues have set in because you're left with gray skies, cold, messy snow, an empty house and nothing to anticipate. The days seem dreary and darkness comes early.

Wait just a minute! We can turn this around!
10 Tricks to Ward Off the Post-Holiday Blues
You can start working on some of these tricks right now! The rest will keep you going long after January 1st! Yay! Calmer activites to keep that spark flickering!
Right now you can:
1). Freshen up your house – Make a note to refer to after January 1st take a close look - does your kitchen need a coat of paint? Maybe new curtains for the living room or new pillows for the couch? Rearrange wall art or buy new kitchen towels. Whichever you choose, you will have a fresh look in your home and a fresher outlook on your day. 
2) Plan a vacation - Start thinking now where you might like to travel. Go online to a state's website and order a free tourism catalog. I have a whole shelf of these on most every state. Rent travel DVDs to help you decide on a destination or just for armchair traveling to exotic places when it's -10 degrees outside your door.
3) Scrapbook the memories - Instead of uploading your digital pictures to your computer, print them out. Create a memory book for all those fun moments you enjoyed through the holidays. Scrapbooking is still a popular hobby and with just a few pretty papers, you can create show-stopping pages that will enhance your best photos. Depending on how many pictures you shot, this activity can keep you busy for months and the kids can help, too.
4) Exercise for endorphins - Right now you can begin an at home or gym exercise program. You'll boost your mood and, the big bonus will be burning off the extra calories that sneaked onto your plate. Your energy level will get back to normal and you'll kick butt on the leftover stress. Walk on a treadmill and use light weights, if you haven't worked out for several weeks, to work back into a routine. Just do 15 minutes a day or 10 minutes twice a day if you're in a real time crunch.
5) Dream up a new tradition - We have our traditions in place for holidays, but what about post-holiday traditions? Begin talking with your family or friends to get ideas for January and beyond. It could be a weekly outing at an ice skating rink; attending a play at a local theater; entering your favorite cold weather recipe in the Winter Festival's contest.

After the New Year Has Begun:
6) Don't miss the post-holiday sales - Grab your stash of Christmas gift cards or the homely sweater your sister gave you and head to the nearest mall or specialty shops for some retail therapy. Buy next year's Christmas cards and add to your cache of decorations. Pick up stocking stuffers while you're there. Maybe you'll even find some sexy shoes  or filmy lingerie on sale that would spark thoughts of a special way to celebrate a savvy shopping spree. 
7) Find your comfort zone again - Take time to relax. Indulge in a few do-nothing days. Reconnect with your main squeeze, your kids or your best friend. Plan a girl's only lunch or spa day. Lounge in the bath with your scented oils and a romance novel. Get back to you!
8) Make new goals - Roll into the new year any goals not completed in December. Make new ones and detail the baby steps to reach them. Include some for fun like learning a new language, taking dance lessons or spending more time writing in your journal. To learn how to set reasonable goals and reach them, click here.
9) Carry on the spirit of the holidays - Volunteer at Meals on Wheels or the Red Cross, cook a meal for an elderly neighbor or spend time talking and listening to the senior's stories. Tutor a child, send a care package to a soldier, donate old clothing to Goodwill or food to the Foodbank. If you have children, help them learn to love the act of community service.

10) Find a new creative outlet - Try painting, learning to play an instrument or writing a book.  Knitting, quilting, singing with a group, or gourmet cooking. All creative work requires focus and creates a calming effect on your psyche.
Even though January usually means cold, gray weather, filing tax returns and paying off credit card debt, choose to carry on with warmth in your heart and a smile in your eyes in spite of it all!
Which will you try? Do you have other ideas to share?
Marcia Richards is the author of Marcia Richards' Blog…Sexy. Smart. From The Heart. Marcia writes about women, history, and the path to realizing your dreams. She has a Historical Trilogy and a collection of Short Stories in progress. When she's not writing, she can be found playing with the grandkids or her husband, traveling or turning old furniture into works of art. She believes there is always something new to learn.Come hang out with Marcia at: twitter or facebook.   VisitMarcia at her blog.

Guest Post: J. A. Bennett

Keeping the Pace during the Holidays
My name is J. A. Bennett and I'm visiting from A Book, A Girl, A Journey for another life list Friday. Gary is a guest at Pam Hawley's blog today so be sure to hop on over there when you're done here.
Like many of you, last month I participated in NaNoWriMo. Those of you who joined will understand my trepidation about taking on the venture. Fifty. Thousand. Words. Stop and think about that number for minute. If you told someone you planned on running Fifty Thousand miles in a month how do you think they would react? 
 Let's do a little comparison here - running and writing. Before NaNo, I felt like someone who had never really run before. Sure, I had taken a few jogs around the block, I maybe even sprinted a few hundred feet. But running, and staying dedicated to running, that was the idea that frightened me from wanting to participate in NaNo.
The other thing that held me back was the gaping hole on the calendar. My husband and I had been planning a trip to Colorado and we would be gone six days. Two of those days would be spent driving. One of those days was Thanksgiving, and another one we reserved for some old friends we hadn't seen in a while. That only gave me two days to do any form of writing and even then I wasn't sure how much I could get done.
Well guess what, despite my reservations, I did it! I wrote Fifty thousand words. Whoa.
Here are a few things I learned along the way that might help you through the busy holiday season.
1. Keep a ScheduleI am mother of two toddler aged children, I am busy all day long. Any life lister will tell you how important my kids are to me, and I didn't want to shove them in a corner just because it was the month of November. So I set a time. Actually I set two times. The first was while my daughter was napping. I would make sure my son had gone potty, gotten his snacks, gotten his blankie, and then I would let him watch TV. For that hour, it was mommy's writing time and he was not allowed to ask for anything.
The second time was after everyone was asleep, it usually started about 10:00pm and went to midnight. Yes, I got less sleep, but I achieved my goal.
2. Tell PeopleI made sure my husband knew ahead of time that I wouldn't be coming to bed with him every night, and my family in Colorado knew that I might be taking a bit of time away to squeeze a little writing in. No one got mad at me for wanting to work at achieving my dreams. In fact just the opposite was true, they wanted to encourage it. It doesn't hurt to have people pushing you to write.
3. Don't Expect PerfectionThere were days during Nano when I didn't write much and other days when the words just came. It's okay, not every day is going to be perfect (and neither is your writing so just put the editor away for a while). Your only expectation should be that you're willing to continually chip away at your goal until it is done.
What did you do to get through NaNo? If you didn't do NaNo what do you do when you feel like giving up on your dreams?

***
J. A. Bennett is a stay-at-home mom of a three-year-old boy and a one-year-old girl. Besides writing, she has a passion for cooking and good movies. She blogs at A Book, A Girl, A Journey about writing and other life musings. She is currently working on a young adult novel that involves time travel, world destruction, and the awkwardness of teenagedom.  She is also on Twitter, Facebook, and Google plus.

Guest Post: Sonia G. Medeiros

Today is LLC Friday and I have the pleasure of hosting fellow writer, and LLC member, Sonia G. Medeiros. Sonia is all set to address a topic that many readers and authors have strong opinions about: the pricing of books. Both sides probably will agree on this: It should be a fair price. But, then again, it's all a matter of definitions.

What's It Worth to You?

Recently, I read a blog post by author Roni Loren on why a good story should be worth more than a cheeseburger. And it was just one of those posts that made me stop and think. A lot. I found myself questioning my knee-jerk response and considering not only the issue discussed in the post (the pricing of ebooks and how we value an author's work) but also how the way we value another author's work reflects on how we value our work.



Check it out, guys. These pellets are on sale. Cheap!

First of all, Roni made the point that we're willing to shell out for fast food, delivery pizza, a movie, etc without much thought but we often grind to a halt when it comes to shelling out the same amount for a book. Why should a book we'll enjoy for hours if not days be worth less than a pizza that will likely be gone in under an hour (unless you count the time the extra calories will spend stored on our butts and/or spare tires)?

My first response was something like "heck, I only have so many dollars in the budget and I just can't justify spending $10-20 bucks on a book." I don't go to the theater all that often, preferring to wait for the DVD until I just have to see it on the big screen. We also try to limit our eating out. Buuut...I'll spend $10-20 bucks on a pizza with less anxiety than buying a book at the same price.

Okay, okay...some of that reaction is because a book is generally just for me while the pizza is for my whole family. But still...am I saying the author's work is not worth a pizza? And what does that mean for how I value my work? Is that why I'm willing to shunt aside my writing for things around the house that really could be put off or at least balanced with the writing time?

And, when it comes to ebooks, especially self-pubbed, I find that grousing about price really kicks in. Suddenly, over $4.99 for fiction ($9.99 for reference/writing craft books) feels expensive.

Whoah!

Really? Expensive?

And obviously I'm not the only one. There seems to be a huge push for cheap or even free entertainment to the point where people are giving bad reviews for price point. Hmmm...all is not quite right with the thinking here.

If people tend to equate the price of something with its inherent value, what are we saying about a writer's work when we're only willing to pay $0.99 for a novel? A novel represents considerably more work than a dollar cheeseburger.

And, if writers accept that mindset, how will we perceive our work? Will we give our writing the respect it deserves? Treat it like an art or like a cheeseburger thrown together in a fast food joint?

I know there's other factors involved in buying a book. The VP of awesome, author Kristen Lamb explains that books are a high consideration purchase. Choosing a book tends to be emotionally driven, especially for those who do not consider themselves avid readers (that and some avid readers don't want to go bankrupt buying all the books they want to read). With ebooks, there's also the understanding that they don't incur nearly the same costs to produce as print books. And self-published books allow the author to take a much bigger cut of the profits than traditionally published books.

But if we go along with the push for cheap books are we setting the bar too low? Allowing market conditions to develop that force new writers to sell their work for bargain basement prices? Are we promoting the idea that a book is barely worth the price of a cheeseburger, no matter how excellent the story?

I'm not entirely sure where I sit on the issue. I do know that I'm thinking about it more now. What does it mean when I tell myself that $6 ebook is "too expensive" and look for the $3 one instead? What am I saying about the butt-numbing hours I spend working on my manuscript-in-progress? And asking questions is always the first step to finding the answers.

What do you think about the price of books and how it reflects on the value of the author's work? Do you find yourself looking for cheap deals or turned off by them? Do you value your work as a writer or do you consider it something of a guilty pleasure?



Sonia G Medeiros is a writer of fantasy, science fiction, and horror. She's the author of more than a dozen short stories and flash fiction pieces, blogs at WordPress, and is working on her first novel, a dark fantasy. When she's not wandering along the tangled paths of her wild imagination, she wrangles home life with one fabulous husband, two amazing, homeschooled children, three dogs, one frog and two cats who battle each other for world domination. Visit Sonia's blog and follow her on twitter.

More Wishbone Than Backbone? Guest Post by Jess Witkins

It's still Friday, right? It's late, but it's still Friday. Due to technical difficulties over at The Life List Club headquarters, I'm posting Jess's column in the evening. You can blame me. But I'm thrilled to have Jess as my guest. Before I give Jess the floor let me say that Jess Witkins and I are members of the Life List Club and that you may want to consider joining. The basic qualifications are that you operate a blog and love the craft of writing.

I was over at LLC member, Sonia G. Medeiro's blog earlier today and tried to be inspirational and wrote about embracing your life's journey. Enough from me, I'm turning things over to Jess:

More Wishbone Than Backbone?

Hello Life List Club! Today I want to talk to you about your backbone. You know that knobby thing that runs up and down your spine. Well, if you're not sure where it's located, this song might help:



All together now! The hip bone's connected to the backbone! Ok, you're right, I didn't steal Lyn's blog to make you all sing. I do want to talk about backbone though, and more than just that thing your Chiropractor cracks after you work a 10 hour day of holiday retail. Just me? Moving along...

The Life List Club was formed with the goal in mind to support one another in our life list plans. Many of my goals centered around writing, so I've been blogging regularly three times a week, learning about the craft and social media by taking courses online, and partnering in critique groups to get feedback on my book. Two classes I'm taking are taught by author and social media expert for writers, Kristen Lamb. In one of her recent lessons she talked about taking initiative towards the goals we want to achieve. For me, that goal is being a writer. Your goal could be meeting new people, traveling somewhere you've never been to, trying a new food at least once a week, keeping up with an exercise plan, or watching all 500+ youtube videos of cute kittens doing ridiculous things. It is so good to have goals.



When Kristen talked about starting out in her writing career, she admitted she had a hard time completing her word count goal. Writing for long hours and producing well-written text was a developed skill for her. Before she could be successful, she had to admit she had "more wishbone than backbone."

The Backbone to See It Through
I think all of us reach a point where we feel we're doing the best we can, but we wish we were doing more. I know I do almost everyday, but I'm self deprecating and over-analytical, which I say adds to my natural charm. ;) The point is, we do take initiative to make change in our lives, and any goal we try to succeed at requires work. Steps that helped me improve my goal progress are time management, such as focusing my hours at work more so I could leave relatively on time and allow for more writing to happen. I also set realistic goals. If we make a wishbone kinda list, we won't have the backbone to see it through. Make your goals attainable, while still moving forward. And most importantly, take action! Why are action movies so entertaining? Because things happen!!! It's called an action plan for a reason. Sure, you could make a dramatic plan; I suggest framing it and sprinkling it with fairy dust then cracking a wishbone for extra good luck. You could make a horror plan, carving out your goal list with a chainsaw, but you might amputate a body part and then you've just gone and bled all over your goal list. Ew, gross!

So you see, having a backbone is better than relying on a wishbone. And, you've always got one with you, no digging around in a greasy dead bird pulling veins off and pushing itty bitty organs out of the way, washing and drying the thing, ruining your good towel and then waking up your roommate to snap the damn thing necessary! *I'm a visual learner!*

Now tell me, have you let your wishbone take over backbone? What is it you want to accomplish? What do you know about yourself that will help you achieve your goals and what opportunity do you have to move yourself forward more?


Bio:  Jess Witkins claims the title Perseverance Expert.  She grew up in a small Wisconsin town as the much younger youngest sibling of four, she's witnessed the paranormal, jumped out of a plane, worked in retail, traveled to exotic locations like Italy, Ireland, and Shipshewana, Indiana, and she's eaten bologna and lived to tell about it!  She deals with it all and writes about it!  Come along on her midwest adventures; Witkins promises to keep it honest and entertaining.  Go ahead, SUBSCRIBE, you know you want to. Follow Jess Witkins on Twitter:  @jesswitkins

The Height of Folly

Outrageous as it was to open a leaden coffin, to see if a woman dead nearly a week were really dead, it now seemed the height of folly to open the tomb again, when we knew, from the evidence of our own eyesight, that the coffin was empty. I shrugged my shoulders, however, and rested silent, for Van Helsing had a way of going on his own road, no matter who remonstrated. He took the key, opened the vault, and again courteously motioned me to precede. The place was not so gruesome as last night, but oh, how unutterably mean looking when the sunshine streamed in. Van Helsing walked over to Lucy's coffin, and I followed. He bent over and again forced back the leaden flange, and a shock of surprise and dismay shot through me.

There lay Lucy, seemingly just as we had seen her the night before her funeral. She was, if possible, more radiantly beautiful than ever, and I could not believe that she was dead. The lips were red, nay redder than before, and on the cheeks was a delicate bloom.

Bram Stoker, Dracula

Painting: The Return of Pershephone, Frederic Leighton

Persephone, the daughter of Zeus, was abducted by Hades to be queen of the Underground, but allowed to return to the surface of the earth for part of the year.

Mephitic and Abominable

My skin grew cold, and my hair stood on end as I listened to that steady and ponderous footfall. There was some creature there, and surely by the speed of its advance, it was one which could see in the dark. I crouched low on my rock and tried to blend myself into it. The steps grew nearer still, then stopped, and presently I was aware of a loud lapping and gurgling. The creature was drinking at the stream. Then again there was silence, broken by a succession of long sniffs and snorts of tremendous volume and energy. Had it caught the scent of me? My own nostrils were filled by a low fetid odour, mephitic and abominable. Then I heard the steps again. They were on my side of the stream now. The stones rattled within a few yards of where I lay. Hardly daring to breathe, I crouched upon my rock. Then the steps drew away. I heard the splash as it returned across the river, and the sound died away into the distance in the direction from which it had come.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Tales of Terror and Mystery

Painting: Nymphs and Satyr, William Adolphe Bouguereau (1825 - 1905)

Mephitic: adj., Poisonous or foul-smelling
Abominable: adj., A thing of evil omen, loathsome, destable

Guest Post, Featuring Author Pamela Hawley

Today, we are pleased to have author, Pamela Hawley as our guest. In her article, Pamela shares some personal experiences of her life at work and talks about being able to slow down so you can catch up with yourself.

I also have a blog post today and author, Jennie Bennett has graciously agreed to host it on her blog, A Book, A Girl, A Journey. Thanks Jennie! Pamela and Jennie are both fellow members of the Life List Club. Now, here's Pamela:

Like A Meandering Stream
There's a lot of truth to the expression "still waters run deep." Personally, I haven't been able to figure out how to truly be still. But I have discovered the beauty of living life like a gently meandering stream rather than a raging river.

For about a five-year period in my thirties, my job was a never-ending rat race. We were implementing a new information system at work, and I was the project lead. On top of that, we were going through a period of high turnover and I was one of just a few managers in an office serving a decent-sized university.

I worked around the clock. When I did fall into bed, I tossed and turned and cursed my old pal sleep for refusing to visit me. When the weekends rolled around, all I did was rest and recuperate enough to tackle another killer week. My bruises were mental, but they zapped me as much as any physical beating.
During that period in my life, I wrote nothing at all, unless it was a work-related document.

In the last year or so, things have calmed down at the office. There's still more than enough to keep me very busy during the workdays. But most of the time, I can leave it behind me at the end of the day and go home to live my life.

This has been a slow and gradual change, one I didn't really think about much. It happened sort of like healthy weight loss - a pound here and a pound there, and you don't realize how much better you look until you try on your skinny jeans and realize they fit perfectly.

The transition was partly due to the implementation being over, but there was more to it than that. Recently two young, hard-working and talented staff members in my office were promoted to positions similar to mine. I was thrilled for them and for myself too. I finally had others who had the skill set to share the load and the titles and compensation that made doing so part of their job description.

So imagine my surprise when a friend asked me if I felt slighted by or worried about these changes. Those feelings had never even occurred to me. There's plenty of work to go around, and my colleagues more than deserved their promotions. Besides, I've been too busy enjoying the life I've gotten back to see shadows where there aren't any.

The Rat Race
Sadly, I can see how some might be threatened. The economy is tough, and everyone fortunate enough to actually have a job is holding onto it with an iron grip. People want to be indispensable, to know what no one else knows, to be seen by bosses and higher-ups as one who will work round the clock to get the job done. Many gladly do the work of two or three people to lessen the chances of being let go.

Talk about a rat race. Being committed to the work that pays your bills and doing it to the best of your ability is a good thing. So is going the extra mile for your employer. But unless your job is truly your passion, living to work instead of working to live can put out the creative light that shines on the rest of your life.

That's why I never once thought about others being given some of my workload as a threat. Instead, it is an opportunity to finally do my job even better because I'm not spread too thin, and still have time and energy left over to be myself and pursue my writing dreams.

Since our restructuring, I have finally been able to rededicate myself to writing, because I don't have to pour every ounce of my brain into earning a living. After 5 years of writing nothing at all, I have written several short stories, regularly maintained a blog, and begun a novel. In the last 3 months, I've had two short stories accepted for publication.

This has happened because instead of living my life like a raging river, just rushing at top speed from one destination to the next, I'm able to roll more like a meandering stream. I'm still moving, but at a pace that lets me observe and be in touch with my surroundings, my life and my emotions. For me, living at a pace that lets me experience my surrounding and "just be" sometimes is essential to quality writing.

Things would have turned out much differently if I had seen my job changes as threatening. I'd be in the office all hours of the night, trying to prove a worth that instead I'm confident others already know is there. I'd still be rushing like that river, missing all the good stuff along the way.

How many people do you know who don't fully pursue their passions because they work such long hours to support themselves that there is nothing left over? For some, circumstances may not give them much choice.

But many of us put ourselves in those shoes, and not just in the workplace. Have any of these descriptions ever fit you?

- Always the first one in the office and the last one to leave, to make sure the boss sees your dedication? Yet you constantly feel like you're missing out on fun, family time, and creative outlets.

- The person who is reluctant to share your job knowledge with others because being the only one who can do a critical task makes you indispensable, even if it also means you're constantly working overtime.

- The frazzled homemaker who wishes your family would help more around the house. But when your husband does a load of laundry or your daughter washes the dishes, you end up giving their work a "do-over" because it isn't quite up to your expectations.

- The person who craves quiet alone time to write or read or think, but who never has it because you say "yes" to every social invitation that comes your way? Somehow, you also usually end up coordinating or hosting the events yourself.

- The mom or dad who needs some time alone to write, but is always hesitant to take family and friends up on their offers to watch the children for a few hours or even overnight.

If any of these fit you, don't feel bad. We've all been there. We want to be involved in the world around us and give it our best. We want to do it all and do it well.

But sometimes, we can't.

Finding a Blessing
If I hadn't seen the changes in my work environment as a blessing rather than a threat, I wouldn't be writing this guest post. I wouldn't be a part of the Life List Club at all, because I'd have never set ambitious goals and expected myself to keep them. Instead of spending my early morning hours in the gym and my evenings and weekends writing, I'd still be carving out extra hours to work.

If your life feels like a raging river, you may have to let some things go so you can experience the world as a meandering stream. You can still travel long distances, but you'll see and do much more along the way.

Have you reprioritized or let go of other expectations you've had of yourself to make room for your writing? Has doing so improved your life?

About Pamela Hawley:
In addition to short fiction, Pam Hawley writes humor pieces and is working on her first novel, which blends the creepy and the funny by bringing a brutally murdered "player" back to life as a naked ghost. Her short story "A Wingding and A Prayer" appeared in the July issue eFiction Magazine. Her short horror fiction, "Peanut Butter and Jelly," will appear in The Spirit of Poe Anthology due out on October 31st and available at Literary Landmark Press When not working, writing or in the gym, Pam can most likely be found curled up on her couch reading, hanging out at her family pub Hawley's in Baltimore, or cheering the Pittsburgh Steelers. She blogs regularly at

By the Dim and Yellow Light of the Moon

I started from my sleep with horror; a cold dew covered my forehead, my teeth chattered, and every limb became convulsed; when, by the dim and yellow light of the moon, as it forced its way through the window shutters, I beheld the wretch—the miserable monster whom I had created. He held up the curtain of the bed; and his eyes, if eyes they may be called, were fixed on me. His jaws opened, and he muttered some inarticulate sounds, while a grin wrinkled his cheeks.

Mary W. Shelley, Frankenstein

Painting: Vincent Van Gogh (1853 - 1890)